I watched every episode of the BBC’s extraordinary The World At War series with my father back in the 1970s and it is a regret of mine that we never traveled together to Normandy.

I have just read Stephen Ambrose’s D-Day and it left a strong impression on me. Ambrose draws evocative pictures of the massive, collaborative, logistical efforts that went into the D-Day landings and then zooms down to the immediate human efforts and concerns of individual soldiers and sailors on the beaches.

I have seen Eisenhower’s remark: “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable”used in presentations and lecture many times. But in this context, it really resonated with me.

D-Day is a wonderful reminder of just how much we owe to that generation and is a worthwhile read for anyone – planners, managers, project managers, psychologists, history buffs, thinkers.